Miami Beach (Fla)

Love or Spycraft: What Landed an American Teacher in a Cuban Prison?

Her family believes that Ms. López fell for an old love and was taken in by him.

James Cason, a former top U.S. official in Cuba, said most Cuban diplomats are known to be spies for their government, particularly those posted in the United States.

“She had to know what she was getting into, marrying a Cuban diplomat,” Mr. Cason said. “Here in Miami, if you marry a Cuban diplomat, you’re considered a traitor, basically.”

Cuban court documents are unequivocal: Mr. Milanés had been a Cuban intelligence agent. And, the court records say, he confessed that to her after they married on Christmas Eve 2007.

By that time, Mr. Milanés lived in Cuba. He was not allowed to leave the island, so his wife spent the next decade visiting him during long weekends and school breaks. According to Cuban court records, Mr. Milanés was an alcoholic who depended on her financially.

In January 2017, Ms. López received a cryptic call from her husband, asking her to come to Cuba, her lawyer, Mr. Poblete, said.

Mr. Milanés had been caught on a boat in Baracoa, on the eastern coast, trying to flee Cuba, according to a person familiar with the case who was not authorized to speak publicly about it. He had called his wife from custody, luring her to the island.

Ms. López flew to Havana and was arrested in the airport, on her way back.

“I don’t care if he had a gun to his head,” Mr. Peralta said of her husband. “That’s your wife. What kind of man are you to throw your wife under the bus?”

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Miami Beach to spring breakers: No more late-night partying.

The city of Miami Beach, worried about big crowds filling the streets of South Beach and the threat of a resurgent coronavirus, moved up its curfew Saturday in an effort to shut down late-night spring break partying it said had gotten out of control.

The 8 p.m. curfew applied to the city’s South Beach entertainment district. Videos on social media from Friday night showed hundreds of people gathered outside after dark and law enforcement dispersing crowds.

“It looked like a rock concert,” Raul J. Aguila, the interim city manager, said in a hastily called news conference on Saturday afternoon. “You couldn’t see pavement, and you couldn’t see grass.”

Florida reopened months before the rest of the country, long before the recent wave of states like Texas that have lifted all or most restrictions and mask mandates.

the highest concentration of B.1.1.7, the more contagious and possibly more lethal virus variant first identified in Britain.

Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said Saturday that he’s concerned that Americans are getting too comfortable as vaccinations gather speed and the country’s daily caseload is far below its January peak. But cases have plateaued at a high level, similar to last summer’s surge, according to a New York Times database.

“History has shown us that when you have that plateauing, that’s usually the forerunner of another surge. We’ve actually seen that in the European Union,” Dr. Fauci said on the Today Show, referring to the latest surge in Europe that has spurred governments to lock down again.

“I’m really concerned if we declare victory prematurely that that’s the same thing that’s gonna happen,” Dr. Fauci added about the situation in Europe. “If we can just hang on a bit longer, the more people get vaccinated, the less likelihood that there is going to be a surge.”

In Miami Beach, law enforcement officials said large crowds have been drawn to the city because they were looking for a place with fewer virus restrictions. Hotel rooms and flights have been deeply discounted, to make up for the months of lost time.

Hotels in Miami Beach do not have to close down but guests are being asked to stay on hotel premises after curfew, and restaurants, bars and sidewalk cafes must close by 8 p.m.

Miami Beach’s entertainment district includes iconic the Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue, as well as Washington Avenue and Española Way, from Fifth through 16th Streets. The police will also block people who are not city residents, hotel guests or employees who work on South Beach from driving into the city along the MacArthur, Venetian and Julia Tuttle causeways beginning at 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. the next day.

The emergency measures will be in place for 72 hours, until the City Commission can meet to decide on a longer-term plan. Miami-Dade County already has a countywide curfew in place at midnight.

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